Cricketers to depart today for the ACC Elite Cup

A 17-member Nepali cricket team is leaving for Sri Lanka to play three friendly matches against the local teams as part of their preparation for the ACC Elite Cup slated for July 23 to August 3 in Malaysia.

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KATHMANDU, July 15 – For the last four years, the national cricket team has won all but crucial matches; and when the players left for ACC Elite Cup on Tuesday, the buzz was whether they would be able to break the jinx this time.

This time at stake is the qualification to Asia Cup for which Nepal needs to reach the final of the ACC Elite Cup in Malaysia beginning on July 25. The two teams contesting in August 3 final will also play the next Asia Cup alongside Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“This is an opportunity we should not miss,” Binaya Raj Pandey, president of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), said. “This is also the only remaining opportunity to play against Test nations,” he added referring to the semifinal loss against Afghanistan in the World Cricket League Division 5 in Jersey.

Nepal’s loss against Afghanistan in the semifinal after series of easy wins in Jersey was a chapter added to the book of major failures. The jinx began in the ACC Trophy 2004, when Nepal lost to Qatar in the quarterfinals to miss out on a chance to qualify for the World Cup 2007 qualifiers.

Then it lost to Fiji by three runs in the semifinals of the World Cricket Qualifying Series Division II to miss out on the World Cup 2007 qualifiers again. In ACC Trophy 2006, Nepal’s semifinal loss against UAE ended hopes of playing in the recently held Asia Cup.

In the third-place playoff, the team lost to Afghanistan and with it the chance to qualify for WCL Div 5. An International Cricket Council (ICC) decision to put Nepal in Div 5 took the team to Jersey but the jinx continued.

But reaching the final will not be easy. “It’s going to be tough,” coach Roy Dias who is seriously thinking of ending his seven-year association with Nepal said. “We can not just go, play and come back. Our players need to realize that this is our last opportunity.”

Dias, who said it would be his last tour with the senior side, seemed happy with the team though not having much change. “No youngster is coming up because there has been no cricket for them,” he said. “But I am happy with the team with an extra batsman.”

The only change in the team is Kaniska Chaugain, the U-19 captain who led Nepal to plate championship win in the Youth World Cup in 2006 before moving to USA to pursue his education. He returned on his holiday, joined the closed-camp training, and was selected.

“We all know how important this tournament is for us and our cricket,” captain Binod Das said. “We assure you all that we will give our best to reach the final.”

The team flew to Sri Lanka on Tuesday where it will train for a week and play three practice matches against local teams on July 17, 18 and 21 before flying to Malaysia on July 23. For the ACC Elite Cup, Nepal will play Hong Kong (July 25), Qatar (July 26), Singapore (July 28) and Kuwait (July 30) in its league matches of Group B.